Everything Changed In A Matter of Seconds-Juliet Mason
by AryaBlackWayneMason
Summary: Why? why this needed to happen? It was ok before. but now...now i don't know, i was just rescued this week and my family were so dark, even my little Mattie, my innocent brother. And Ben...he isn't the same, he just...he isn't. Hal...i really think that he and Maggie girl are in love, hoppefelly real love. Dad were the same old history teacher.
1. my memorys,

"New" first chapter! With help of .stargazing .from. earth, my beta!

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Today was my first tournament. I was wearing my archery school uniform; a white skirt, black belt, white t-shirt, and a pair of black boots.

I was excited, but extremely nervous; I was couldn't stop myself from biting my lips. It was a bad habit, I knew, but it was also comforting in a way. It took my mind off what I was about to do.

"Sweetheart, you need to stop biting your lips or they will start bleeding. You don't want that, do you?" My mom, Rebecca, asked me. She had the same hair color as me, unlike Ben, my twin. Ben had dirty blonde hair, while my mother and I have light straw blonde hair. We also had the same light skin and green eyes. My dad, Tom, told me every day that I was an exact copy of my mother; not just her appearance, but personality-wise too.

"No, mom, I don't wanna," I said, childishly pouting. I smiled at her, though, and turned away after a moment, staring out at the field, silently worrying about the competition.

"Hey, Ju. You're the best out here. You'll win this. Archery is so easy; it's just point and launch," Ben said, not taking his eyes off of his Harry Potter book. I laughed. It was like my twin could tell what I was thinking without even looking up from his reading.

"Ben, I really want to see you use a bow and arrow. It would be hilarious," I said while continuing to laugh. One day, in my first week of archery, Ben tried my bow and arrow in the garden. He didn't know but I saw, and it was the funniest thing ever. I had to wonder why I didn't film it, though. It would've been a priceless video.

"All competitors at the age of fourteen, please go to the field," an announcer voice proclaimed through a set of speakers. I gulped at his words.

"That's you, sister! Good luck!" Matt and Hal hugged me, while my dad, mom, and Ben just waved after me as I took off for the field

As I picked up my Raptor Compound Bow, I saw that there were two other boys in the field. I was the last one to reach the range.

"Hello beautiful!" the guy to my left said, staring at me like he was trying to rate me. Probably thought he was being smooth. I just rolled my eyes.

"Participants will shoot ten arrows, and the competitor with the most points in the end will win. The first participant is Juan Carlos." The first contestant was the guy who was staring at me. The commentator continued to talk as he shot his arrows. "Good shot, for the first arrow."

First shot was seven points, the second was nine points...Juan Carlos' total was seventy-one points, two of those shots being in the center for ten. The second competitor lost, scoring only fifty points. "The third and last participant is Juliet Mason. Will she be able to pass the great score of Juan?" I raised my bow, took a deep breath and let go. "Ten points in the first arrow! Juliet Mason starts on fire!" I smiled and continued shooting my arrows. Three...six...eight...and ten!

"Whoa, seventy-two points! Juliet wins first place and the grand prize of five thousand dollars!"

Triumphant, I took my trophy and took a picture with it as my family cheered on in the background at my victory.

* * *

"Bea! Wait! I need to put my books in my locker," I called after my friend, struggling with my load of school stuff.

"I'll just wait in the cafeteria, okay?" She said, smirking at me.

I tried to convince her with puppy dog eyes, but she just laughed and went off to find the cafeteria, leaving me alone.

I sighed and turned around to face the hallway of lockers. I passed by my older brother, who waved at me. I waved back shyly; Hal was with his lacrosse friends and all I could even think was that they were hot. Two girls were standing by them, probably fans if I knew my brother.

When I reached my locker, it seemed like most of the football team was standing in front of it. I bit my lips. Why was I so shy? I just needed go in there and put my books in my locker. It would be easy. Nothing to be worried about. I took a deep breath and started to walk toward them. The boys stopped talking and looked at me as I approached. They were older, probably Hal's age.

"You need something, girl?" The captain of the team asked me, with a cruel edge to his voice.

"Yeah, I need to put my books in my locker," I said, a little boldly. I pointed to the locker behind him. Thank you god for my Mason courage.

He just laughed and the others joined in. "And if we don't want to leave? Do you want to, guys?" They all said they wanted to stay, laughing more. One guy pushed me and my books fell down. I tried to pick them up, but another two boys kicked them, still on the ground. The captain grabbed my short light blonde hair and tugged on it, right where it stopped near my ears.

"You have a really beautiful face," the boy said, still holding onto my hair. He was leaning in too close for comfort and I tried my hardest not to feel intimidated by him.

I was going to try to get him to leave me alone, but before I could do anything someone pushed him up against the lockers and I stepped back. Hal was whispering to the boy.

"If you ever, _ever_ touch my sister again, you will never see the light of day." Hal's voice was gruff and angry as he leaned aggressively over the captain.

"Oh, is her big brother her to save her?" He taunted, laughing a little.

In response, Hal punched him and the boy fell to the ground with a sharp crunching sound that probably meant a broken nose. I picked up my books and put them in my locker. Hal's friends were protecting Hal and I from the others in the football clan.

"Did he hurt you?" Hal asked, putting one lock of hair behind my ear.

"Yes, I'm fine, Hal...Thanks." I said, grinning up at my big brother gratefully.

He smiled at me after hearing that. "Always, princess. Always."

* * *

"Mattie? What are you looking at? Is it a squirrel?" I bit the apple that I was eating.

"Julie, you need to see this…" Matt put his hands on the glass of the window, never turning to look at me.

"What the…?" I said, standing beside Matt to see what he was looking at.. One _big_ spaceship, I think, was flying above Boston. The TV and computer started to make noises and I looked over at them. They stopped after a moment. Matt twitched a little beside me at the sight of this. The cars outside stopped for no reason and people started screaming in anger about being late for their jobs. Babies started crying, and then there was silence. A frightening silence. The lamps in the room exploded and I screamed, jumping with fear. I tried to calm myself down, but I looked outside and saw things falling from the spaceship in the sky. I grabbed Matt's hand in fear. I was frozen still; I couldn't run or do anything. It was impossible.

"Oh my god…."

The bomb hit the land and exploded, a big blue explosion with clouds in the form of mushrooms. Wind from the explosion destroyed windows and cars turned over. I grabbed Matt and put him in the corner of the room, protecting him with my body. Our windows broke into pieces, some of them hitting me in the back. Matt was shaking and started mumbling, "Mommy...Daddy...Hal...Ben..."

"Mattie, listen to me. They are okay, but right now we have a problem," I squeaked. "Glass hit me in the back. It didn't hit you, did it?" He shook his head, tears falling from his eyes. "That's good. Right now I'll lay down and you will tell me if I have a lot glass in my back or little glass, okay?"

I laid down to go through with my plan, but before Matt had time to say anything, I heard, "Juliet! Matt! Where are you?" It was my dad. Matt quickly yelled back for him and I heard my dad running toward us, but stopping at the door. "What happened?" My dad asked as soon as he saw me.

"I was hit with glass trying to save Matt," I told him and realized I was crying. A lot. Tears were streaming down my cheeks as I thought of what had happened.

"It´s gonna be okay, princess," my dad told me calmly. I hated that nickname, but in that moment it was comforting.

* * *

We were in someone else's house. Aliens had invaded the world.

I put on some clothes, and opened the door of my temporary room. I heard yells from the door in front of mine and I curiously listened in. It was Ben and Hal, who slept in the same room. I shared a room with Matt. Why I didn't sleep with Ben, my twin? Because I was fourteen and sharing a room with my twin brother at that age would've been weird.

"You're a dumb jock." "Math geek!" They were fighting again and I knew it had become serious when I walked in and they were close to each other, both angry.

"Hey, hey, stop right now!" I put myself in the middle of them before it could get worst.

"Now is not a good time, princess," Hal whispered angrily.

"It´s the perfect time, actually. We're in the middle of an alien apocalypse and you two don´t stop! What the matter with you two? We can all die any moment for god's sake!" I was yelling and crying by that point.

"Jeez, princess, we'll stop, okay?"

Mom stopped in the doorway. "Darlings, I need to go looking for food with Harris."

"I'll go with you, Mom," I said, wiping my tears away. "There won't be enough hands with just you."

"Okay, honey, we'll leave in a minute."

I hugged Hal and Ben and went into my room quickly to kiss Matt's forehead. He was waking up as I did so and looked up sleepily. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to find food with Mom," I told him, and he hugged me quickly. My mom came up behind me and he hugged her too.

"They were fighting again," I said when Harris, my mom, and I were inside of the mall center. "Shh," she whispered, "Harris, there aren't any aliens and we have the food. Juliet, we can go home and talk when we get there."

Out in the streets, I heard a _muuuh _noise coming from behind us. It must have been the bipedal robot things. "ALIENS!" Harris yelled, beginning to run.

"What?" I questioned, and looked back to see five or so aliens chasing after us. I dropped my food and started running as well. "Mom! Come on! Let the bag go!"

"We need the food, Juliet!"

The aliens got much closer as my mom and I argued over this. "They'll catch us!" I told her, urging her to run like I wanted to.

"Juliet, behind you!" My mother screeched. The alien pushed me, so I grabbed my knife and tried to do some damage to the alien. I heard a yell behind me and turned my head just in time to see one alien scratching my mom. I saw everything in slow motion and without any sound; my mom's head hitting the ground, her face turning to me and one single tear running down her face. Her eyes went dim, the light completetly gone, and my mom was dead.

"MOM!" I screamed and realized that the alien had me in its arms and was taking me away. I tried to get away the best I could, but the thing was strong, too strong. After some time, it took me to a strange room, with a large tank in the center.

"I don't wanna have that thing in my back! Please, no! Anything but that!" I pleaded as they put me on a table and a creature slithered down, landing on my back. I was never going to see my mom or dad, Hal, Ben or Matt, my family again. I was crying when the thing clamped down and suddenly I didn't feel anything at all.

* * *

"She's waking up!" I could feel my whole body again and it was a beautiful thing. It was simple kind of beauty, that I could feel, but with that thing living in my back, the simplest things never seemed to work. I blinked several times, seeing the most beautiful and incredible image of my whole life in front of me. There my family stood. Ben, with a shorter hair cut and a gun, smiling, my dad, with a new found beard, almost crying, Hal, with yet another gun, crouched down to my level and Mattie, with the biggest smile of all.

"Dad? Ben? Hal? Mattie? " I started crying. They were alive! _I _was alive. Oh my god, thank you!

"Hello princess," Ben said, looking down at me. I just smiled up at him, unable to say a word.

Everything was going to be okay from now on; I was finally back with my family.

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Comment people! that's really help'!


	2. When i woke up

I sat up on the bed, rubbing my eyes. As soon as I was upright, Ben and Hal started to talk at the same time. Mattie hugged me and started to talk as well. Before I could say anything, there was a voice behind the curtain that separated us. A woman appeared, with long brown hair and warm brown eyes. She looked like my dad's age.

"I don't think Juliet can understand anything that you three are saying." She smiled. "And she needs to sleep, so go back to your work. I think Captain Weaver called you two," she said, pointing to Ben and Hal. "And Matt, isn't it time to sleep?"

Matt let go of me when she said this and replied, in a whiny voice, "But I want to stay with Juliet!" He seemed so desperate, I reached over for him a little bit.

"Let's go, buddy, you need to get to bed," my dad said, lifting Matt up into his arms. Matt struggled for a moment with my dad, with was unusual. He never fought with my dad before. Had that much changed since I was gone?

"Okay, now that we're alone," the woman said, smiling down at me. "My name is Doctor Anne Glass, but my close friends, including you and your family, can just call me Anne." I laid down, suddenly feeling exhausted as she said this. "Are you comfortable?" she asked, pulling a blanket over me.

"Uh-huh," I said, closing my eyes and snuggling further into the blanket. I wanted to stay awake, to talk to my family and find out what I had missed and...well, how long I had been gone. But the sleep overcame me and before I knew it, my head was against the pillow and I was drifting off.

Before I finally fell asleep, I heard my dad's voice. "Goodnight, my princess." I smiled in my sleepy state and finally nodded off to sleep.

* * *

I was laying on a bed and there was a bright light filtering in through the windows. Rubbing my eyes, I looked around,. There was a t-shirt laying on the chair next to me which I pulled on. I pushed a back the divider curtain that surrounded me. Four beds were bolted to metal walls, and there was a steering wheel in the back of the place. P_robably a bus, __I thought. __Looks like one. __Beside two of the beds was a partially open wardrobe. With a quick glance in that direction, I_ realized there was a mirror attached to one of the swinging doors.

I looked different, to say the least. Before, I had had short hair; now I had really long blonde hair which fell to my waist in small waves. I was thinner than before and taller. I finally had some curves, which made me smile. I almost looked like a completely different person, but surprisingly, I looked...well, pretty despite what I'd gone through.

On the doors of the wardrobe were a bunch of pictures- genuinely happy pictures. One of them was of a couple of kids with a woman, who looked like their mother, on a beach. I giggled a little, looking at it and thinking it reminded me of the first time I went to the beach with my family. I hadn't liked the idea of putting on sunscreen and at the end of the day I ended up looking and feeling like a tomato, and not happy. Ben always liked to remind me of that.

_Ben, __I thought._He was different yesterday. He seemed outwardly happy, with the way he was smiling, but the gun, and the way he was holding it, gave him away. If I really thought about it, it seemed like such a forced smile on his face. He was _angry __and his eyes gave him up as much as his gun did._ They didn't have that light of hope and even if I was reading him wrong, I could just tell in my gut that he was _angry._ You could call it a twin's connection or intuition, I suppose. How long was I with the aliens? And what had happened while I was gone?

Yelling and footsteps called my attention back to the present. It sounded like people were coming in my direction, so I stepped back to my curtained-off area with its small bed. A man came inside, with a teenager in his arms. There was blood everywhere.

"You son of a bitch. I will kill you!" The girl yelled, and Doctor Anne came inside. She quickly told the man to leave the girl in one of the beds, but I couldn't see her, so I edged a little closer to where they came in. In front of the wardrobe, there was a hard cot with rolling wheels, which I assumed to be a surgeon's bed. I guess that's where they put her down.

"Call Lourdes for me, please," Doctor Anne said hurriedly. She turned to the girl and began to examine her. "You just have a bullet in you foot," she told the girl quietly after a moment. "It isn't too deep. Don't worry, we'll have your foot fixed up in no time." Anne yelled the last part, "But I need Lourdes!"

"God, it hurts!" The girl yelled again, and writhed in pain. I felt so helpless, standing there and watching this girl while she was so obviously suffering.

I coughed a little, calling their attention toward me. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Yes!" She exclaimed gratefully. "Come here and secure her leg. Not too tight, okay?" I nodded and got to work doing what she asked. We worked in silence for a moment, before another voice interrupted us and I turned my eyes toward the doorway.

"Anne! Sorry I'm late," came a voice from the entrance of the bus. A girl in her early twenties, who I assumed to be Lourdes, was striding toward the surgeon's table and the still-trembling girl.

"Finally, Lourdes! Pass the towels for me," Doctor Anne instructed and together they began to work on the girl's foot. The girl seemed nervous as they worked, so I tried to start a normal conversation with her.

"Hi," I said brightly, trying to smile at her. Her eyes kept flitting down toward her injured foot. "My name's Juliet Mason. What happened?"

"My...My name is Alice Steward, and...um, and..." She began trailing off and her eyes slowly turned toward her foot, her lower lip trembling as she tried not to cry when she saw the extent of her wound.

"Hey! Look at me Alice, I need you to focus on me and not what they're doing, okay?" I looked down at her, keeping my eyes locked on hers, and continued, "Look at me, Alice. Now, tell me what happened." I smiled at her slightly, trying to encourage her to be brave and focus on me.

"I...I was teaching the novies how to shoot and that BASTARD shot me in my foot!" She yelled out in pain, her face contorting into an expression of anguish as the doctor prodded at her foot, continuing the work.

"I'm sorry about the pain," Anne said, never looking up from her work on the girl. I continued to try and distract the patient and the surgery pressed on with the girl crying out in pain intermittently.

* * *

20 MINUTES LATER...

"Okay, Alice, you're all done. I want you to rest here for the day though, okay?" Doctor Anne confirmed. "Take this," she said, giving her some pills. Alice took them from the doctor eagerly and gulped them down.

"Doctor Anne," I started shyly. "Do you know where my family is? Where I can find them?"

"Well, we thought you would sleep for longer," she replied, turning her kind eyes toward me. "Ben and Hal are out scouting, Matt is in class, and your dad is probably with Weaver."

"Can you take me there? Where my father is, I mean?" I looked down at my feet nervously, unused to talking to new people anymore. Especially someone who seemed so close to my family. I had to ask myself again, _what had I missed?_

"Sure," she said, smiling at me. "Come with me." I smiled back at her and followed her out of the bus. She seemed like a really nice person. I could understand why my family seemed to like her.

We passed many tents and people milling around outside those tents. Some of them looked at us as we passed with genuine curiousity, some of them with a strange looks of disgust. I didn't understand those looks, so I just focused on seeing my dad. When we came to one of the largest ones, Anne stopped and opened the door to reveal my dad.

"Dad!" I yelled, hugging him. He stared to kiss my cheeks and forehead, tickling me with his new beard. "Daddy, stop!" I squealed, laughing

"Never!" He exclaimed, hugging me again, and then pulling away. As we separated, I noticed that Anne was gone and there was another man in the tent, older than my father. Probably Weaver, like Anne said.

"Good, you're here," he said gruffly. "I need to ask you some questions."

I did a double-take as he said this. "Me?" I asked incredulously, looking at him like he'd grown another head.

"Yes, you!" He said, gesturing in front of him. "Sit in that chair." When he said that, I looked toward my dad, but his confused expression told me he didn't know what was going on either.

"Weaver, what is this? Why are you questioning my daughter?" My dad seemed angry at Weaver's commands, and a look of contempt passing across his features.

Weaver looked disgruntled at this, and said, "It's just a few questions, Tom."

My dad didn't look particularly pleased with this, but he motioned for me to sit down, so I did. He sat beside me and threw an arm around me shoulder protectively as I turned to face the older man.

"What's your full name?" He questioned, getting straight to the point.

This seemed like a ridiculous question to me, but I replied in a quiet voice, "Juliet Rebecca Mason."

"How old are you?"

"Fifteen?" I said in a hesitant tone, looking toward my father for confirmation. He shook his head a little and murmured, "Sixteen." Something inside of me deflated. Sixteen? I'd _missed_ my own sixteenth birthday? Something about that seemed to make me realize the horror of what had happened to me.

"What do you remember from when you were harnessed?"

"What is a harness?" I asked, tilting me head in confusion. "The things that live on children's backs?" He nodded at this, so I continued, "I don't remember anything...It's like there's a hole in my memory."

Weaver didn't look happy at my words. "Do you remember anything from the night we found you?"

I tried to think about it, searching my mind for any memory of that night, but I couldn't. "No, sorry."

"Do you remember why you were controlling five skitters and two mechs?" He asked faster as my dad started to tell him, in a brusque tone of voice, that 'enough was enough'.

"What are skitters and mechs?" I asked, turning to look back and forth between my dad and the military captain in front of me.

My dad responded, "Skitters are the six-legged aliens, and mechs are the machines." My breathing hitched at this. All those aliens, from before...I had been _controlling _them? Like...like an alien would?

"I was controlling them?" I repeat quizzically. There's no way I could've been controlling any kind of aliens. I mean, why would _I _be controlling them? I was just a teenage girl.

"Do you know anything about the fish heads?" Weaver continued with the interrogation. His whiskered face loomed in front of me, and I was as confused by this question as the one before it.

"What?" I asked, my eyes narrowing in bewilderment at the addition of another type of alien. How much had the humans found out since I was taken?

Weaver started to talk louder and faster at the same time as my father. "What do you know about them?"

"What you know?" He repeated, turning back to me with a hard look in his eyes.

"Don't talk to my daughter like that!" My father raised his voice at the older man. "You have absolutely no right!"

"I have every right! She was _controlling _them, Tom," Weaver replied in the same angry tone of voice as my father.

At this time, I realized that I couldn't understand what they were saying. It seemed to me like they were just yelling at each other. I got more nervous as they went on with the argument, and it seemed like they weren't going to stop. I pushed my chair back abruptly and ran outside without saying a word to either of them, just trying to forget their yelling and the words they were saying. _I was controlling them? How was that possible?_

I felt arms wrap around my body from behind me to stop me from running, and I struggled. "Let me go!" I yelled, trying to get out of their grasp, but the person was strong, much stronger than me. Finally giving up, I turned and opened my eyes to see who had grabbed me.


	3. The history

"Ben!" I exclaimed, hugging him tightly. "Ben, I don't understand! How is it possible that _I _controlled the skitters? Ben...What happened while I was gone?"

He sighed and pulled me into one of the tents, sitting me down on a bed. He sat down next to me and started talking.

"After you were captured, we found mom," he began, and then stopped for a moment, as flashes of my mom's death passed through my mind. I just shook my head and told him to go on, so he continued. "One week after that, I was captured." Before I could respond, he went on "Dad, Hal, and Matt found a group of survivors called the Massachusetts Militia Regiment- part of the resistance. After two months or so, the group divided into nine smaller groups. Dad is second in command of this group- the Second Massachusetts. Doctor Harris-"

"Doctor Harris is alive?" I asked, a sudden wave of anger passing through me. He had left- he had left my mom and I to die in the attack.

Ben shook his head, saying "No, a skitter killed him." I knew I shouldn't feel happy, but I couldn't help the feeling of joy that spread through me. My mom could be alive if it weren't for him.

"Anyway, Doctor Harris discovered a safe way to get the harnesses off the children. Hal and Dad rescued me, Anne did the procedure and... I was saved. After dad and Weaver blew up a tower in Boston, dad was captured by the fish heads. That was three months ago."

I swallowed noisily, my throat dry. "How long has been total?"

"Ten months," he replied and I inhaled sharply. Almost a year- I had lost almost an entire year with my family. That was why they were so different...Ten months in this world? That was a miracle... I laid back on the bed, thinking about it. Ten months.

I heard Ben gulp loudly, and then in a very low voice, he said, "I shot him." I blinked at him several times, not understanding what he was saying.

"Who?" I asked, sitting up again and putting an arm around his shoulder, in order to comfort him.

"I shot dad, Juliet. I...didn't want to though, you know?" Tears started to fall from the corners of his eyes and I realized that I was one of the only ones he trusted to tell things like this to. Ten months ago, anyway. "I thought it was a skitter- he was behind one. It was dark and I couldn't see him. I didn't mean to." He began biting his lip, trying to stop himself from crying. "They don't believe me when I tell them it was an accident, Juliet." His head was in his hands, his sobs growing stronger. I started crying too, not being able to understand what had happened- it was all too much for one person to hear.

Between the tears and hiccups, I managed. "I believe you, Benny. I believe you."

We stayed like that for a while. Almost an entire hour later, the tent door was opened and a frantic-looking Matt entered.

"Hey, Mattie," I said, sniffling. I hadn't completely stopped crying at that point. He ran and hugged me, causing me to fall back into the bed. I was pulling my hand through his curly hair comfortingly when he whispered in my ear.

"Never leave us again."

My eyes widened at this and I pulled Matt onto my lap, and said honestly, "I hope that I will never need to leave you again, Mattie." I single tear slid down my cheek. "I missed too much. Tell me what happened while I was gone, Mattie."

I smiled and Matt happily started telling me all the stories; about the games of footballs, the dinners with the Second Mass, and all the drawings he did for Anne.

ONE HOUR LATER

Matt was showing me his drawings when Hal walked into the tent. Ben had probably told him that I was awake on his way out to patrol.

I just smiled at him as he sat down beside me and Matt. He hugged me around my shoulders and he didn't need to speak to show how much he loved me.

A boy around the age of Matt appeared at the door of the tent not long after Hal walked in. "Matt you've been in the tent ALL day. Come on and play some soccer with us," he said, looking at me quickly as he did. His eyes were sad and held a kind of silent question, but suddenly changed when he said brightly, "If one of you wants to play too..."

I stood up and walked to the door, turning around when I sensed that the two boys weren't moving to follow me. I threw my hands in the air, exclaiming, "You two are gonna sit in here when we can play some soccer?" I smirked at them. I would never make my little brother stay in a tent with me when he could be out playing with his friends.

They got up and slowly made their way out of the tent and to the spot where a bunch of kids were playing the game. There were nine people that I counted, ranging from eight to twenty-five in age. Hal saw a blonde girl- who seemed to be twenty-five- and smiled as he mussed up his hair. She smirked back at him, picking up the ball.

We played happily for a long time, and when I got tired I sat on the side. My brother sometimes took my place, and sometimes sat on the side, watching us all play.

"They look like they never had to go through the invasion. They look like the way it used to be," Hal said, watching all the kids with a soft smile. "You look like that too."

A boy with dark brown hair and green eyes approached us slowly, and Hal called out to him, "Hey, Jimmy!"

"Hi," he responded with a smile, sitting beside me shyly. I smiled back at him. Hal, seeing the blonde girl waving at him, got up and left the two of us alone.

An awkward silence began as soon as my brother left, neither of us knowing what to say.

"I'm Jimmy," he said finally, glancing over at me.

"Hi, Jimmy," I said shyly, smiling at him. "I'm Juliet."

In the days following, Jimmy and I became close friends. In fact, him and Alice (the girl who had been shot in the foot) were the only ones who would talk to me. I think it was because of my spikes, though I don't know what they would have against me.

We were laying on a hill, talking. Jimmy and I, I mean.

"I know!" He said, laughing with me at something he had said before. "So, what was the most embarrassing moment of your life?"

"Well...I was a nerd," I confessed, and we both giggled a little. "My life was boring...but I did love my bow and arrow." I thought about it, feeling a pang of sadness. I missed my bow. "Back then, if you ever wanted to talk to me, and couldn't find me, you had to know that I'd be in my back garden shooting arrows."

"So you love shooting arrows?" He asked. I just nodded in response, and we stayed silent for a while.

"I told you they'd be here!" A shout came across the hill. Alice's voice, actually. She continued, "Those love birds." I sat up, rolling my eyes as she appeared with Ben, who seemed slightly confused.

"Shut up, Alice!" I said, somewhat angrily. She just laughed at my anger and sat down next to me."

"You're late," my brother yelled at Jimmy as soon as he reached us. "Come on, we need to go! Bye Ju, Bye Alice!" Ben grabbed Jimmy's arm and pulled him along behind him as he ran off.

"So do you want one lesson in shooting, or...?" Alice asked as soon as they were out of sight.

I bit my lip. "My dad doesn't want me to know how to shoot..."

"Your dad doesn't boss you around! One day, he'll be dead and your brothers too. What are you doing to do then?" She asked me, putting her hands on her hips.

"Don't say that!" I exclaimed a little angrily. Mostly, though, I was sad at the thought of that.

"Juliet, open your eyes! See the world that we're in now! It's a mess. We don't know if we'll live until tomorrow. You need to learn how to use a gun. It's for your own safety!" She took out her handgun as she said this and just put it in my hands without asking. "You want to live, right? With your family? First you need to know how to protect yourself." And with that, she left.

"Wait," I said, so low that I knew she couldn't hear me. I got up and said louder, "Wait!" She turned around and looked at me expectantly. "You're right," I said finally. "Teach me."

"Come on, let's go," she said, motioning to come forward, so I ran toward her, When I reached her, she placed her arm around my shoulders and murmered in my ears, "You made the right choice, Juliet."

"Okay, not put it like this," she said, positioning my hands correctly around the gun. "Aim, point and shoot. It's simple."

I was shaking. Had I really made the right choice? If I had...why was I so afraid? I took a deep breath and imagined that the handgun was like the crossbow I had at home- the one that I had used only a few times. I looked up, aimed at the tree and shot.

It was so loud, cutting through the forest like a knife. I dropped the gun, afraid of the power of- afraid of myself. Wrapping my arms around my body, I took a step back.

"It was a good shot, Juliet!" She exclaimed, running toward the tree I had aimed at. "Juliet?" She questioned, looking to me, and then to the gun on the ground. As soon as she saw my shaking body, she hurried toward me and embraced me in a tight hug.

"It was only your first time, I know that it's rough. It'll start to get easier, though, you'll see," she said, grabbing the gun and putting in back in my now steady hands. "Just once more today, okay?"

I went through everything again, but I was completely steady this time. I started difficult, but everytime I shot, it got easier. By my seventh shot, the gun was comfortable in my hand.

It was night again, and I found Ben, Jimmy, Hal and Maggie all by the cars after I came back from the forest with Alice. I embraced both my brothers in another tight hug like the one Alice had given me. Just feeling their warm bodies was good and made me feel better.

"Is everything okay?" Hal asked, raising his eyebrow at me suspiciously, "You never do that for no reason."

"I can't hug my brothers?" I asked. He didn't respond to me, just shook his head, smiling, and left to put his guns in the right place.

A quiet cough made me look over at Jimmy, who held a box in his hands. "It's for you," he said, smiling sheepishly. I blinked a few times at him in surprise. He had gotten something for me? I started to open it, and was rendered speechless when I saw a beautiful Raptor Compound Bow underneath. The kind that I had used in my classes.

"Jimmy..." I was speechless and couldn't say anything for a moment as I just stared at the beautiful thing. Finally, I said, "It's gorgeous, thank you!" I smiled over at him.

He seemed uncomfortable, and threw his hands in the air, shrugging, and saying, "I saw it in a store we raided, but it was Ben who picked it out."

"It was all his idea," Ben claimed, blinking at both of us.

I just blushed, saying, "Let's give it a try!"

The three of us headed out into the forest, and set up near a big oak tree. I steadied myself with the bow, picked an arrow, pulled back and shot.

Just like I wanted, the arrow hit the middle of the tree- a perfect shot.

**Hello people! Please if you liked the history until now favorite, follow and review! I am new in writting history's specially english ones! ( I am portuguese so...) Said what is in your mind! don't be shy!**

**Also i don't own any of the chareters in here, just Juliet.**


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